The coloured fields of Netherlands

Hurry up and head towards Netherlands where the tulips, hyacinths and daffodils are blooming. It's only a 3 and a half or 4 hours ride from Luxembourg and it's well worth it. Just wonder around with the car and admire the huge beautiful smelling fields in the Lisse/Leiden region, between Hague and Amsterdam. And don’t forget to open the window for your car will be instantly “invaded” by an amazing natural perfume.    

Netherlands never ceases to amaze me for its inventiveness, ambition and hard work. Last weekend’s wonder was the sandy soil more suitable for the beach, but the Dutch grow amazing flowers and plants in this soil. For example, they provide 75% of the global tulip production. It is amazing!

The best hot chocolate in Luxembourg

At this time of the year I was expecting to start my yearly journey to discover the best ice-cream in the city, but since the sun has sharp teeth and I’m wearing my winter jacket and warm boots, I’m still into hot chocolate. Luckily I have discovered the best place for that right in the heart of Luxembourg, vis-à-vis from The Duke’s Palace at Chocolate House Bonn.

If you’re like me and try to stay away from tourist traps you could have missed it, but this chocolate house is as authentic and cosy as it should be. Plus it has the biggest cakes possible and around 40 different chocolate spoons to choose from - classic chocolate, with milk, white or noir, to pistachio, curry chocolate (I still haven’t tried). By now, my favourite is the brandy and Bailey’s one. 

They are called hotchiocspoon because the chocolate is „frozen” on a wooden spoon and melts perfectly in a big cup of fresh milk. The biggest challenge is to stop using the spoon like a lollypop and leave it melt in milk.

And for the warm season they prepared a special cold drink also based on chocolate blended with ice-cream and homemade cream...yummy

As far as the cakes are concerned, they are another sweet and complicated story, as my eyes always roll over from one side of the counter to another. The brownie was made in heaven – it’s creamy with a crunchy layer on top and pieces of nuts inside, absolutely delicious. The other names are impossible for me to write, as they are written in a German (or Luxembourgish ?) inaccessible for me to articulate, but I definitely  remember the chocolate and cherry cake covered with a big layer of home-made cream. 

The only sad element at the Chocolate House is the face of the guardian of the palace, who not only has to face the hordes of tourists impressed by his uniform, but is forced to watch all day people eating huge cakes and drinking hot chocolate.

Address

20 r. du Marché-aux-Herbes
1728 Luxembourg, Luxemburg

26 26 20 06

www.chocolatecompany.nl

Colette - What a wonderful life I’ve had, I only wish I had realized it sooner!

In Luxembourg happiness is not obvious or easy to find. There aren’t many inspiring people in the streets, you don’t find creative places at every corner or big crowds to get lost in, there’s not even a Starbucks to buy a caramel latte from. But with some effort you learn to appreciate other things and once you create your own universe you discover the bright side of Luxembourg. Like this field of crocuses I accidentally discovered in the city center.

All the writers I love, Garcia Marquez, Cehov, Jane Austen wrote about little places, somehow isolated, because even if we live in a big city, we actually live in a small neighborhood in an isolated block of flats. And the best thing in Luxembourg is that if you get tired of your own world, you can escape to Paris, London or Amsterdam, without much effort or money. 

It took me almost a year to appreciate my new world and after I put my own puzzle pieces together I felt the need to share with you the small and sometimes guilty pleasure of my new life in Luxembourg. My name is Cristina and I’m a journalist writing a new chapter of my life story in this small, but multicultural center of Europe. And if you like to discover good food, clever design, nice places or interesting stories I can’t wait to hear from you. So let’s listen to Collete’s words carefully and build together our own Happy Luxembourg.